


Spooked

by Introvertia



Series: 13 Days of Halloween [7]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: 13 Days of Halloween, Billy Hargrove Lives, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Dreams, Established Relationship, Fluffy Ending, Gay Billy Hargrove, M/M, Nightmares, PTSD, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:54:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27198116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Introvertia/pseuds/Introvertia
Summary: A bad experience while walking through the woods puts Billy on edge, that night he has a nightmare but awakens safely in Steve's arms and looks at his boyfriend with fresh eyes.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Series: 13 Days of Halloween [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1995811
Comments: 8
Kudos: 56





	Spooked

**Author's Note:**

> This short fic was inspired by the glorious Gothyringwald's 13 Days of Halloween prompt list.
> 
> Prompt 7: Scream
> 
> This is the 7th of 13 that I will be posting daily between the 19th and 31st of October. They may be read independently or in sequence. 
> 
> Please check the tags of each story as the content will vary.

October 24th, 1986

**The Owl**

**Part 1**

If Billy had any complaints about his job at the Bountiful Bakery, it was that he started his day at an ungodly hour. Now that it was late October he was walking to work in total darkness just to clock in at five in the morning.

Billy’s alarm clock began buzzing at exactly four-thirty-five in the morning. Steve groaned in weak protest, startling and reminding his boyfriend that he was there. Billy turned off the alarm and looked over at Steve, he was turned away, his dark wild hair obscuring his face, the down comforter Steve had brought to Billy’s apartment was pressed up to his nose. Billy was still adapting to having Steve spend the night, they’d only been dating for about three weeks, and going steady for exactly ten days, not that Billy kept count.

Billy got out of their shared nest of blankets from the squeaking pullout bed that had come with his modestly furnished studio apartment. He turned on the coffee maker and the electric heater (for Steve’s sake) and stepped into the shower for a quick wash. Just as the water was heating up it was time for Billy to exit the shower and get dressed. He turned on a single bulbed lamp to dress by, not wanting to steal any of Steve’s three more hours of sleep. Billy drank a cup of steaming hot black coffee and stepped out of his studio apartment. He shut the door wishing he could crawl back in bed and squeeze Steve to him.

Standing on the small landing at the top of the stairs he was blasted by cold air, “Lucky son of a bitch.” Billy muttered thinking he could _really_ use and another three hours in bed wrapped in that fancy comforter with his foxy boyfriend. He went down the stairs avoiding the squeaky spots, and the loose board and dashed down the drive way, past his landlord’s house, who seemed indifferent to his coming and goings as long as he paid his rent on time. He cut across the street and into a small patch of land that was full of trees, it wasn’t exactly a forest, but it was big enough to get turned around in if you didn’t know your way. Steve had shown him the short cut on October 2nd, which was also the first time Billy had thought he might have a chance of making friends with Steve, and on the morning of the 3rd Billy had stolen a kiss, it had _really_ paid off.

Billy realized once he was forty feet or so in the wooded area and away from the main road that he’d been so busy daydreaming about getting back into bed with Steve that he’d forgotten his flashlight. Billy reminded himself that he knew the way by heart, but he still wished he had the damned flash light in his hand. The dry leaves crunched under his feet, but what he found more unnerving was where the dead pine needles laid so thickly on the floor that they muted his foot steps, making him all too aware that if something or someone were following him he wouldn’t hear them coming. Billy stayed to the path and kept his eyes forward, not wanting to scan around, knowing that he’d probably just think he saw something, when really it was just him and the trees.

As he walked he heard the sound of crackling branches, it sounded like it was coming from above. He quickened his pace a bit.

_No one’s out to get you._

That’s what his shrink had told him, and sometimes he believed it, but right now he didn’t. Billy walked quickly his legs feeling stiff with tension, his motions a rigid because his body was on high alert, no matter if his brain was trying to talk sense to the rest of him. He saw the lights of the lumber yard in the distance, he just needed to cut across their parking lot and go down the alley to get to the loading dock of the bakery, up a few steps through the door and Mr Donahue would be waiting inside, he was always there before Billy.

_No one’s out to get you._

Billy said the words over and over in his head, but it wasn’t helping. He looked over his shoulder, and once he’d done that he couldn’t stop staring into the shadows, and up at the trees’ spindly branches that appeared to melt into the inky darkness of the sky. Overhead something swooped down and screeched, the sound was hit him like lightning, cold air rushed in his face.

Billy bolted.

He skidded down a slope and leapt over a log, the toe of his boot catching but he stumbled forward but didn’t fall, he felt a sharp gust disturb the air near his head and ran faster. He glanced back over his shoulder and saw nothing, just the empty dark forest, when he looked forward he had to spin around a tree that he’d nearly run head into. Billy didn’t stop running until he swung open the backdoor to the bakery and stumbled inside. His boss Marvin turned around holding a cup of coffee and with a startled expression. Billy said nothing. He just locked the back door and went to is locker and shoved his jacket inside of it and pulled out his apron and tied it on. His heart felt like it was about to punch its way out of his chest. Logically he knew it was probably just an owl, but his mind kept painting pictures of the Shadow, flying at him, grasping at him. Screaming at him.

**Heebie Jeebies**

**Part 2**

Steve arrived at Billy’s apartment just after six in the evening and marched up the stairs, he was sore and exhausted from his new job at the Shawnee Hardware Store and Lumber Yard. Steve knocked on the door and waited, he stole a French fry out of the bag of food he’d brought for their dinner and knocked again. “Billy, hey?”

Billy opened the door and looked at Steve, his normally heavy lidded eyes were opened wider, he looked past Steve and out across the vista of the woods.

“Are you expecting someone?” Steve asked as he stepped inside.

“No.” Billy said quickly and shut slid the bolt into place.

Steve walked in and looked around the studio apartment, surprised to see that Billy had all of the lamps glowing, normally he’d have the light on above the kitchen sink, maybe the lamp by the couch if he was reading…butall of them were lit, the light in the closet, the one in inside bathroom, the floor lamp by his battered and scarred wooden desk, and the one on top of his dresser drawers. Steve blinked letting his eyes adjust and peeled off his jacket. He sat down on Billy’s brown tattered couch and leaned over to unlace his boots when he noticed a couple books on the coffee table. That wasn’t unusual, Billy never talked about going to the library, but it seemed like every four days or so, new borrowed books would replace the previous ones, sometimes a pair and sometimes as many as four. Steve had just never noticed any quite like these.A paperback with a creased cover read Man and His Symbols by Jung, and the other a hardcover stained from handling and a careless coffee cup was titled Animals: Their Messages and their Meanings by Martin Beck, PHD. “What are you reading?” Steve asked, he never really asked about Billy’s books, but these were too weird not to ask.

“Books, you should try it sometime." Billy walked over and looked at the bag of food that Steve had brought with him and snatched it off the coffee table, he set it on his small cheap card table that they always ate at together if they weren’t watching a tape or TV.

Most of the furniture had come with the apartment, but Steve had managed to bring over a few nice things to make Billy more comfortable, like a decent comforter for Billy’s pull-out bed that they shared some nights,an electric space heater, and a coffeemaker. Steve suspected that Billy would never accept them as gifts, so he just asked if he could keep them here and Billy had agreed with a shrug.

Steve flipped through the pages of the book by Beck, and stopped where Billy had shoved in an index card, “Owls.” Steve said looking at the chapter.

“Are you gonna come eat or is this all for me?” Billy asked sitting down at the kitchen table.

“I’m coming.” Steve dropped the book on the coffee table and walked over in his socked feet, he thought he should bring a rug too, that would help with the horrible insulation, he was also very aware that Billy was in a strange mood, but was doing his best not to take it personally.

Steve and Billy dug into the fries and burgers. Steve was halfway done with his dinner when he noticed that the flimsy grey curtains that Billy had hanging up over his windows had been pushed aside and that newspaper had been taped over the windows.

“Billy,” Steve put his burger down, “what’s with the newspaper?” He tilted his chin at the window nearest to where they were sitting.

“Neighbors are nosey.” Billy said looking at his plate and dragging a fat fry through a puddle of mustard and ketchup.

“We’re above a garage, and none of your neighbors have two story houses. What’s going on, what’s with the weird books, why are you reading about owls? And Jung?”

Billy closed his eyes, “It’s pronounced young.”

Steve exhaled, “I really don’t care how you say his name. I want to know what’s with you? You looked freaked out when you opened the door and you’re being a dick.”

“Do we have to talk about everything little thing? Jesus. I already have a shrink.” Billy picked up his burger and took a bite, regretting having said anything.

“But you’re not still seeing him, are you?” Steve asked quietly.

“Once a week, I had to go back. Because of that stupid cop.” Billy shrugged. Two weeks early he’d gotten into trouble with Officer Callahan, it hadn’t ended well but Billy had been lucky because Dr Owens had been keeping tabs on him since he’d been released from the hospital and had bailed him out. Billy still hadn’t really talked to Steve about that, he felt embarrassed, his father had always made it sound like people that went to see head doctors were either fools or lunatics, and Billy knew he was neither, but it still felt bad, like he was weak minded, or crazy. Billy’s cheeks were burning, he clenched his fists under the table. He had to get his temper in check, he didn’t want to end up like his father.

“I just want to know if I can help.” Steve said pushing his plate away.

Billy got up and went to refrigerator and opened it and grabbed a can of coke, he closed the shut the door hard and quick then sat down heavily across from Steve and lit up a cigarette.

“I’m not crazy,” Billy cracked open his can of Coke, it sounded too loud in the otherwise silent room, “When I was walking to work it was pitch black,” He got up restlessly and walked over to his stereo and put in his Metallica tape and pressed play, and turned the volume on low, just wanting noise, he could feel Steve watching him. “I forgot my flashlight and I just had a bad feeling, you know? Like when it feels like someone’s near you, or following you?” Billy sat down and pulled out a cigarette and lit it. “Then this fucking owl attacked me, alright? So now you know why I’m being weird.”He snapped his zippo shut and put it on the table. “Happy?”

“What do you mean it attacked you?”

“It came at me, like a kamikaze pilot and screamed at me, for no god damned reason. So after work I went to the library, I mean I was planning on going since yesterday, and I decided to check out those books, because that’s some weird shit.” Billy got up again and walked over to his desk where he kept a large crystal ashtray he’d bought at a yard table and dropped it heavily on the card table. He sat down again, his eyes darting to the window near his desk. “Then when I was reading, killing time, waiting for you to get here, one of them flew into the window,” Billy held up his palms and slapped one against the other to demonstrate, “Bang! Right into the window next to my desk where I was sitting. It was like that stupid movie the Birds!” Billy took a long shaking drag off his cigarette, “So I covered the windows.” He exhaled a plume of smoke. “Fucking weird shit, man.”

Steve dragged his chair over and set it right next to Billy’s . “You’re not crazy. Owls are weird, and Barn owls, make these crazy calls, like awful screechy sounds. If that happened to me when I was cutting through the trees in the dark? I’d be freaked out too, and I’ve lived here my whole life.”

Billy frowned, he took a drag on his cigarette and nodded slowly, he sighed and resenting Steve a little bit for making him feel better so easily.

“I brought you cookies.” Billy muttered in lieu of an apology, he was pretty sure he owed Steve.

“Sugar cookies?” Steve asked enthusiastically, he watched Billy nod and then planted a kiss on his cheek “Thanks babe.”

After that brief conversation Billy was determined to be normal. He sat on the couch and picked up the copy of Man and his Symbols and started reading. Steve sat on the opposite corner of the couch reading the August issue of Rolling Stone magazine there was an article on California suburban gangs, he wanted to ask Billy about gangs in California but he looked engrossed in his Jung book. Steve finished that article and then read the cover story on Boy George. When he was done with that he tossed the magazine on the coffee table and Billy flinched. Steve looked over realizing that startled Billy. “Sorry, were you sleeping?”

“Yeah.” Billy sat up and pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes and rubbed.

Steve sat up and tapped the side of Billy’s knee, “Come on, let’s pull out the bed.”

“It’s too early.” Billy muttered. He looked over at the clock, “it’s barely nine.”

“It’s also really freezing in here, come on. Let’s just get under the covers.” Steve squeezed Billy’s shoulder and then leaned over and kissed him gently, “Warm me up a little, huh?”

Billy smiled softly and nodded. “Yeah, let’s get in bed.”

Once the bed was set up Billy walked around the studio apartment and turned off all the lights one by one. He still felt anxious but didn’t want Steve to think he was chicken shit, like what kind of man is afraid to sleep in the dark?When Billy got in bed he felt Steve’s hand stroke across his chest smoothing the warm fabric of his thermal, his thumb briefly stroking across the nipple nearest to Billy’s heart,and then Steve embraced him in a tight squeeze. Billy tilted his head and nestled into the crook of his neck, it was so much easier to be close in the dark, even though a part of Billy wished some of the lights were on.

Steve held Billy close, listening to him breath, he liked the feel of the rise and fall his chest as they lay in the inky darkness. Billy tended to run warmer than Steve, but he complained about the cold with an unparalleled intensity. Steve hated that Billy had been so freaked out,but after what he’d been through it made sense. Billy was the bravest guy he’d ever met, he’d survived being possessed and taken on a two story interdimensional monster, and much Steve’s amazement, lived.

The wind picked up, leaves and other detritus could be heard being thrown against the window by a strong gust. The large tree outside of Billy’s apartment set its branches tapping and clicking on the exterior of the apartment, the thin walls made it difficult to ignore the scuttling and scratching sounds. Steve thought he should borrow a chainsaw from work and trim back the branches. He didn’t want the noise to keep Billy up. He almost said something about it aloud, when he heard Billy release a faint burbling snore.

**Part 3**

**The Scream**

Steve awoke to the sound of a scream. He leaped out of bed and was stumbling on his feet in the dark.

“Billy! Billy what’s wrong?” Steve reached over and turned on the lamp tipping it sideways, he grabbed it by the lampshade keeping it from falling off the side of the end table.

Billy was laying in bed, his bright blue eyes opened wide and darting. His body was rigid and his arms were down at his side straight. Steve touched his shoulder, his body felt like stone.

“Billy?” Steve shook him lightly at first, but when he got no response he shook him harder.

“Billy, hey! Billy wake up. It’s okay, you’re okay. You’re dreaming.” Steve looked at Billy’s wide unseeing eyes. “Please wake up. Nothing’s going to hurt you. Billy?!”

Billy’s eyes blinked, several times and then looked at Steve, really focused on him. “What are you doing to me?” Billy muttered, he sat up and looked around, still foggy headed. “What?”

“Billy you just screamed.” Steve sat on the bed next to Billy.

Billy blinked and then the dream came flooding back.

He’d been in the woods and there had been nothing but dead trees and darkness. Coldness came suddenly, surrounding him like a cloud and then the Shadow was near. Billy had started running and running but knew that nowhere was safe and he was alone and no one would help him, or save him… and he’d ran and ran, pell mell through the dark, knowing IT was right behind him… it had been so dark he couldn’t even see where he was going, he didn’t see the woods so much as sense the cold presence of dying trees all around him, and he could feel the leaves sliding under the soles of his boots and the roots as he stepped on them fleeing desperate and lost in the dark.He ran knowing he could not out run It and finally gave up and hid behind a tree. That was when it came, the shadow came for him and found him, and Billy could see its nebulous form in the darkness, its smokey tendrils became tentacles that darted at his face smelling rotten and of sickness, Billy had flinched but been unable to look away, and just before it touched him, just before it muzzled him and entered him, tainting him and poisoning his mind body and soul, an owl swooped down from the dark sky, it’s white wings open wide, its talons spread, their points like knives grabbing hold of monster, and dragging it away by its writhing grasping limb. The shadow was gone, the monster made flesh was gone. Billy was safe. Then the owl appeared before him, as tall as a man, larger than life, its giant dark eyes staring into Billy’s, it’s pale white chest rising and falling, it’s gaze steady and calm…

Billy sat up looking at Steve’s wide dark eyes, his chest heaving under his white t-shirt.

“You’re alright, I’ve got you. I’m going to protect you Billy, I promise.” Steve said gently.

Billy reached up and touched Steve’s cheek. Steve rested his hand over Billy’s keeping it to his cheek and placed his opposite hand on Billy’s chest just above his heart, it was beating rapidly. Billy’s breathing began slowing down, becoming even.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked quietly his eyes searching Billy’s.

Billy nodded and rested his forehead to Steve’s. “The Shadow, I dreamt of the Shadow… I’m sorry.”

“What, sorry? You don’t need to be sorry.” Steve pulled Billy into a hug, he could feel that Billy had sweat through the back of his shirt and hugged him tighter.

The wind died down, just as suddenly as it started and an owl called, it sounded like it was perched in the tall leaning oak that was right next to Billy’s apartment, it called again, it’s weird hissing and breathless cry.

“Maybe we can get one of those fake owls, and put it in that tree. To scare it off.” Steve sat up a bit, wondering if he should go outside and try to scare it away.

“No.” Billy said.

“No? It might work.”

“I think, I want it to stay.”

“But, aren’t they bugging you? You said it flew right into your window.”

“Maybe it just saw its reflection and freaked out, being territorial.” Billy looked at Steve’s big brown eyes, how they were wide set and yet sloped ever so slightly,haloed by his fine brown lashes.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Steve asked looking a little baffled and shy as his cheeks colored.

“You remind me of an owl, a little bit.” Billy smiled softly and said, “Thanks.”

“For what?” Steve smiled curiously.

“Saving me.” Billy kissed Steve lightly on the lips, he glanced at the clock and saw that his alarm was thirty minutes from going off. Billy had thought walking to work this morning would be terrifying, but somehow he was no longer afraid. He even hoped that he’d see an owl flying overheard on his way to the bakery.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. To those of you that have been reading along daily, I salute you (and blow kisses in your general direction), thanks for making it extra exciting to share my work.
> 
> I love this ship and Halloween is my all time favorite holiday! 
> 
> Don't be shy if you have any questions. Comments are welcome and greatly appreciated.


End file.
